I resolved my issue. I think. Instead of using the install disk that was shipped with the MB I was using my multi-license OS X 10.5 dvd that I purchased sometime in the past year or so.
So I finally tried to boot with the install disk shipped with the MB and now it appears as if everything is working. I am about half-way through the install process now but all appears normal.
Use the install disk shipped with the MB for any replacement hard drive, at least for the time...

Hello,
I just bought a new 2.4Ghz MB and, after booting it up once to make sure it was working, I replaced the stock drive with a Western Digital Scorpio 7200rpm 16MB 320GB drive. Thereafter, upon booting the MB with the OS X install disk in the drive the screen remains grey.
Periodically, it sounded like the MB was accessing the install dvd but it would just restart then do the same thing etc. There is no image whatsoever on the screen when this occurs, just the grey...

Yes it is interesting. I voted that I would buy a new MB, and I did buy one. But I wish I could have voted no and not bought one.
I have the money to buy a MBP and I need firewire. But I have been using my 12" PB much too long while waiting in vain for a pro portable Mac, and so I capitulated.
I'll use the money I could have spent and wanted to spend on a pro portable instead to buy a MB and try to replace my firewire audio and video devices.
And if Apple comes out...

I am a 12" PB holdout who finally capitulated to Apple's ongoing commitment not to build a small pro portable. I could no longer wait, maintain my hope against all odds, and yet still preserve a sane connection to reality (of Apple's marketing). So I purchased a 2.4 GHz 4GB MacBook and hope to replace my firewire devices with satisfactory USB replacements at a reasonable additional cost.
I want to replace the standard hard drive with a 320 GB, 7200 rpm, 16 MB cache...

I vote for Apple's Backup.
I've used SuperDuper and TimeMachine. IMO SuperDuper is very good and Time Machine not so good. The hard drive on my wife's MB recently crashed and it was much, much easier to just use Backup to restore her files than it was to use Time Machine. No longer will I bear with Time Machine and its frequent tax of system resources for no benefit when I finally need it.
The only reason I choose Backup over SuperDuper is because Backup is so simple...

For one, I am not surprised by Apple's new MBs and MBPs. Not by the black colors, the glossy screens, the lack of firewire, etc. Maybe that is because I have been a holdout using a 12" PB.
The 2.4 GHz MB is akin to the 12" PB in its day. It is overpriced but the smallest reasonably fast portable Apple makes. 12" PB users paid a premium for the portability and gave up FW800, the illuminated keyboard, and speedier graphics. But we still had FW400.
The 2.4 GHz MB is closer...

I think Apple's increasing use of black colors in their lineup is to help gain PC business market share, as my guess is business users think black looks more "business-like"/professional and Apple believes most Mac users are going to stick with apple anyway.
I prefer the all silver color of the past PowerBooks and MacBook Pros, and held a slim hope the newest portable models would buck the trend towards black. IMO the new unibody chassis would have been perfect for the...

I really need to upgrade from my 12" PB, but also need to connect firewire devices. I'd much prefer a MBP, except for its size and weight. Hence, my only option is the MBA.
So, any recommendations for a FireWire to USB adapter, and any comments as to experience with the same? (I ran across this one, but it is not Mac compatible: http://www.usbfirewire.com/Parts/rr-300008044.html)
Thanks in advance.

Just browsing TM via g is slower than via n, but not nearly as annoying as with the g and n difference in the actual backup process.
And, as mentioned by KingOfSomewhereHot, browsing TC via g works fine. Aside from very large files the speed is fine.
By the way, with TM you can exclude some files from the TM backup. I exclude many system files and save loads of space and time.

It will work ok as a NAS hard drive. But Time Machine and Apple Backup will be painfully slow if you want to use either to back up to the Time Capsule.
There is a very large difference between a 802.11n MB or MBP and a 802.11g PB backing up to my 1 TB Time Capsule via Time Machine. With similar-sized data sets the MB and MBP take about 1/5 the time it takes my PB. I do not care much because I intend to install a RAID 1 or RAID 5 to the Time Capsule and then conduct...